VW mark 4 Golf TDi. What is better in a rear end shunt, tow hitch or no tow hitch?

Question

Hello here's an interesting one. My Golf mark 4 has a tow hitch, one of those fancy VW "removable " ones. I normally leave it on, in the belief that this will protect the rear end of the car from low speed "shunts". Parking parallel to the kerb is the normal mode where I live.

But recently I have been thinking that if the tow hitch is hit, the force would be transferred to the structure of the car and the damage could be even GREATER ( and more expensive) than if there was no tow hitch. The rear bumpers are designed to absorb energy, after all.

Does anyone have any opinions either way?

Answer 1

I work in crash repairs and often see various vehicles with tow bars attached with rear damage.In general I would say less damage occurs to the vehicle with the tow bar(rather than the same vehicle without).We repaired a fairly heavily hit Saab recently & it had a towbar fitted,we expected to see the impact had damaged the chassis where the towbar frame was,but it hadn't touched it & the towbar was just slightly bent.The car that hit the Saab was a total.

Answer 2

In the situation you are talking about, where your car is parked with no occupants, then the bolts attaching the tow bar to the car's underbody structure will probably shear before any damage is caused to the underbody. Also, the impact is likely to be very low speed and low energy, so the other car's bumper will absorb most of the energy.

However, if there are occupants in your car, there is another factor to consider. The tow bar would effectively allow the accident energy to by-pass the crumple zone, so transferring the energy to the car's structure, and hence putting additional accelerative forces onto the occupants. Therefore occupant injury (e.g. whiplash) is probably more likely with the tow bar in place. Depending on the height of the impact on your vehicle, removing the hitch from its frame may or may not affect this situation.

Answer 3

I don't know where you are but most states in the USA have made it illegal to drive around wit the receiver plugged into the hitch. But yes the damage could be more severe for both vehicles and it makes even a slow speed impact more dangerous because the cars can get stuck together and have a slingshot effect. Hope I have been helpful.

Answer 4

the will be less damage to your car more to the idiot that runs into you. The attaching bolts would sheer before damaging your car.
The tow bar is rated for more than 800kg (i guess) so should be quite strong. Your car would only weigh about 1400kg.
Any impact large enough to damage the tow hitch would see the other car in your boot

Answer 5

Actually, I think it is the other way around. Think about it. He drives a pickup truck and has at least three different trailers to haul (necessitating the hanging balls, they do have a purpose). Probably trailers with ATVs, or boats, or snowmobiles on them. Compare that to the guy driving the minivan. "Yes dear, it's practical and fuel efficient, and it will fit all of Rudy's soccer team and Sally's jazz dance class, plus a load of groceries from Wal Mart." They even made a whole new category of vehicle--called 'cross overs'--for the sole purpose of giving the wife the space and seating of a minivan, without the husband looking like he handed his balls directly to his wife....